Southside Princess
by Iwillgodownwiththisship27
Summary: What if Alice hadn't made it out of the Southside but FP did? Betty grew up in Sunnyside trailer park and Jughead grew up living next to Archie. The two kids have never met, but soon their worlds will collide. AU.
1. Chapter 1

Jughead paced along the worn floor of his bedroom. It was an understatement to say he was nervous. Everyone at school had been on edge since the announcement the other day. Kevin sat in Jughead's beanbag chair in the corner.

"I'm not sure what you're so worried about. The Southside kids are scary but not _that_ scary. I wouldn't be too worried about it." He shrugged.

"You know I'm not a huge fan of change, Kev and our school is about to double in size. Not to mention my mother has been demonizing their side of town any chance she got in the paper for years. What if they realize who I am? What if I get beat up?"

"Well I'm sure Archie will defend you. He always does. Plus, Moose and Reggie would jump in for backup if needed. However, don't expect me to sacrifice my porcelain face for you." He teased. "Besides, they have as much of a chance going after me, my dad's the sheriff and he's had plenty of run-ins with snakes and goulies."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Jughead muttered and glanced out of his second story window towards his neighbor's house. A flash of red hair let him know Archie was almost ready for school. Kevin appeared behind him and took over his view once Jughead stepped away and adjusted his crown beanie for the umpteenth time that morning.

"Wow!" He heard his friend exclaim. "Archie got _hot_!" Jughead turned around and raised an eyebrow at Kevin whose head was still cocked as he continued to oogle Archie. "What?" He asked when he noticed Jughead's exasperated expression. "Objectively speaking, he is good looking without a shirt on. I realize he is not gay and I have zero chance. However, I can appreciate his male essence all I want."

"Whatever, dude." Jughead chuckled. "Come on, we better get going before we're late."

The two boys made their way through the Jones' house. The beanie clad boy stopped at the kitchen table where his family was in the middle of breakfast. He chugged his sister's glass of orange juice and snagged a few pieces of bacon and toast off her plate before patting Jellybean's head and exiting the kitchen. Before the two teens made it to the front door, his father's voice sounded behind them. "Be careful you two, those snakes don't mess around. Keep to yourselves and don't cause any trouble." FP warned.

"Thanks dad, I think we can manage." Jughead called back before closing the door behind him.

"That was rather ominous." Kevin commented.

"Don't mind him, he used to live on the Southside. He has always been so proud he got out. He and my mom aren't too happy about the merger."

"No one is. My dad says those kids are criminals and gangbangers. I'm betting most of them probably won't graduate anyway."

The boys kept walking as Archie fell into step with them as they passed his house. "Hey guys." He said as he approached.

They returned his greeting and continued to talk about the big merger that day until they reached the school.

"Well if anything, today will be interesting." Kevin lamented as they adjusted to seeing a large number of students wearing black and leather weaving in and out of the school.

"Archiekins!" Veronica squealed before jumping into her boyfriend's arms and began an uncomfortable amount of PDA.

"As if they didn't just see each other yesterday." Jughead joked under his breath to Kevin before looking away from the kissing couple.

He didn't know why Veronica's presence always bothered him so much. Kevin always tried to imply that his jealousy meant he might be struggling with feelings for Archie. Which was of course, absolutely absurd. Jughead and Archie had been best friends and neighbors for as long as he could remember. He'd never once felt any sort of attraction for his friend, or any other guy for that matter. Not that he'd ever had much of an interest in girls either but if he were honest with himself, deep down he craved that sort of affection he made fun of. Not that any girls at Riverdale High would ever be interested in him. He was just Jughead. The kid with the funny name, the funny hat, and only two friends.

He'd never cared to interact much with girls, he felt they were too much trouble after observing Archie's trysts with them. Not to mention, girls usually made him shy. At this point, most people just assumed he wanted nothing to do with them because as soon as a girl was around, he wouldn't say much. Veronica had even asked Archie if he disliked her. But the truth was, he just didn't know what to say to girls. They were just these bizarre creatures to him.

He wondered what type of girl he'd even like. Certainly not a diva or overly dramatic girl like Veronica, Cheryl the head cheerleader, or Josie the lead singer of the Pussycats. They intimidated him too much. He glanced around campus to view possible options. Midge was always nice and he was impressed by a lot of things she'd say in class, but her and Moose had been official since freshman year. Ethel made it no secret that she'd always had a huge crush on him but he wasn't sure how he felt about her and it wouldn't be fair to her if he played with her feelings getting into something without thinking it through first. He noticed a lot of girls he'd never seen before, Southside kids wearing leather. A couple of them were cute. A pink haired girl and a blonde one with a ponytail walking with linked arms caught his eye in particular. They both wore leather jackets with serpents on them. The blonde's jacket seemed to have two heads instead of just the one he usually saw the Serpents wear around town. The same as the serpent tattoo his dad had. He made a mental note to ask his dad about it later.

Archie's hand clapped on his back, pulling him from his thoughts.

"What are you thinking so deeply about?" He asks and Jughead looks over at him. No Veronica or Kevin in sight.

"I think I might he interested in finding a girl to date." He confided

"Oh, wow! I honestly didn't even know you were interested in girls. I mean, you do spend a lot of time with Kevin."

"Wait, people think I'm gay?" He sputtered.

"Only speculations."

"That's just great." He face palmed.

"You know, if you were, there wouldn't be anything wrong with that, right?"

"Yes, I know. But I'm not so I don't really want people thinking that." Jughead crossed his arms.

"Okay well I know Kev or Ronnie would love to try and set you up if you let them."

"No, please don't tell them. They'd go overboard and you know it, let's just keep this between us."

"Okay, man." The bell rang for first period and they went their separate ways.

* * *

At lunch that day, the group gathered at a picnic table on the quad. Kevin and Veronica were gossiping about the new Southside kids when Jughead joined them. "This has gotta be the worst thing that's happened to this school." He huffed. "I was late to third period because there was a group a Goulies in front of my locker that wouldn't move until the bell rang, the halls are so crowded you can barely get through, you can't even focus in class because these kids are so disruptive."

"Jughead, I believe that's the most I've ever heard you talk." Veronica chirped.

He grunted in response around a mouthful of food. While his friends continued talking his eyes wandered around and spotted the two Serpent girls he'd seen walking into school that morning. They were sitting at a nearby table, the pink haired girl sitting on the edge of the table facing the blonde ponytail seated on the bench. They were giggling about something and the blonde looked up and for a second they locked eyes. Jughead quickly diverted his gaze back to his food.

"Some of these Serpents are so hot though! I'm starting to like the leather look." Kevin stated.

"Yeah, maybe you could find yourself a cute girl, Jughead." Archie smiled.

If looks could kill, Archie would be a dead man.

"Oh are we setting Jughead up?" Kevin sat up excitedly.

"I told you not to say anything Archie." Jughead grumbled as he stood up to leave. He turned around and almost jumped. The blonde Serpent had appeared in front of him.

"I'm sorry this was a dare." She said quickly and before he could respond, she'd grabbed his face and kissed him hard on the mouth. He'd dropped the tray he'd been holding during the commotion. The kiss tasted like vanilla and honey. Too soon, it was over. His eyes fluttered open and she ran back to her friend who was dying laughing.


	2. Chapter 2

The rest of the day, nothing disturbed Jughead's unusual state of contentment. He was unbothered by the fact that he spilled his lunch. He wasn't upset when he got paired up to work with some neanderthal named Sweet Pea for his art project. (The Serpent was surprisingly good at choosing color schemes.) Jughead also notably wasn't annoyed about his friends' constant teasing following the kiss.

The rest of the day he kept his eye out for the girl, he wasn't really sure what he'd do when he saw her but he felt that he needed to see her.

He sighed as the bell rang and began the last period of the day. It was his free period and he always spent it in the Blue and Gold office to work on the school newspaper. People joked that he was following in his mother Gladys' footsteps as she was editor in chief of the Register, a popular newspaper in town, but he didn't mind. Anyone who read anything he wrote knew he wasn't like her. He wasn't close minded or a fear mongerer. His passion for observing and writing about the world around him kept him going despite what people said about it.

He was immersed in his newest story about the school merger when there was a sharp rap on the open door. He glanced up, barely registering there was a person standing in the doorway. He did a double take and suddenly all the rapid thoughts he was pouring into his article came to a crashing halt.

"Uhem." The blonde ponytailed Serpent cleared her throat when he didn't say anything. "Is this the office for the Blue and Gold?"

"This sign above the door didn't tip you off?" He asked, his sarcasm getting the best of him as he stretched back in the old computer chair.

"Oh uh, yeah it did but I wasn't sure. I assumed this school would have a whole team of students working on the paper."

"That's where you're wrong. I am the eyes, ears, and brains to this well oiled jurassic machine." He patted the dusty box of the tan computer in front of him affectionately.

"Yeah, that was me over at the Red and Black. I only had my best friend Toni to help take pictures. Believe it or not, our computer was even older than that one." She nodded to the PC his hand still rested on. Realizing this, he pulled his hand back into his lap. "Imagine _triassic_." She gave a small smile walking over to the seat sitting on the opposite side of his desk. Seeing her closer, he noticed her large green eyes and full pink lips.

He nodded looking back to his computer screen so he didn't openly stare. He stopped himself from making a comment about how most of the Southside kids likely needed lots of pictures because they probably couldn't read. His eyes flickered back to her, sweeping over her face, stopping at her lips. Unanticipatedly, he couldn't stop thinking about kissing her again.

"Anyways, I was hoping that you'd let me join the paper. I have a few samples of stuff I've wrote but most of them burned up in the fire. I could always write a few trial stories too if you're not sure but-"

He waved his hand cutting her off. "That won't be necessary." He watched her face fall and quickly back peddled. "As long as you're halfway literate I could really use the help." He couldn't help but grin at the smile that erupted over her face.

"Thank you!" Her perfect white teeth shone brightly. "I didn't catch your name. I'm Betty." She stuck out a small well manicured hand.

"Jughead." He grunted, shaking her hand. Her palm was so soft, he couldn't help but wonder what the rest of her skin felt similar.

" _Jughead?"_ She snorted, then went wide-eyed at the sound she'd made. "There's no way that's your real name."

"Maybe, but I don't use my real name for much and very few people know it."

She put a hand to her chin thoughtfully. "Well investigative journalism is my calling. I think I'm going to have to find out."

"Good luck." He chuckled.

* * *

Later that day walking home from school with Archie, he told his best friend about Betty joining the Blue and Gold. "Betty?" He asks. "Wouldn't expect that for a name of a Serpent. Did you guys talk about the kiss at all?"

"What? No! Are you crazy? She just joined the paper. I don't want to make it awkward. Besides, I don't think working on the paper together is all that romantic."

"Oh that's where I think you're mistaken. Just think, you guys could start off investigating a case, then end up investigating _each other."_ He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Calm down Casanova. She probably doesn't even like me like that. Right before the kiss, she _did_ say it was a dare and she's only joining the paper because she ran the Red and Black at Southside high."

"You never know." Archie shrugged.

They approached their houses and said their respective goodbyes. Entering the living room of his house, he decided to avoid going through the kitchen at the unmistakable sounds of his parents fighting. Upstairs, passing his sister's room he heard her playing Pink Floyd loudly. No doubt on her record player he'd given her last Christmas. He couldn't help but smile to himself at that. In his room he tried to work on some homework but despite his sister's music, the sounds of yelling carried up the stairs.

He packed his stuff back into his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He approached the door next to his room and went inside. Jellybean was laying on her stomach facing the foot of the bed sat up at his entrance, eager for a distraction from her homework. He turned down the record record player near the door.

"You up for Pop's?" He asks, already knowing her response.

"I'm always hungry." She smiled a toothy grin, leaving the piles of papers she'd been engrossed in moments before forgotten on the bed behind her.

"Bring your homework." He raised his eyebrows at her and she frowned at his request but nevertheless, packed her things into her backpack.

They quietly made their way through the livingroom and out the front door, unnoticed by their screeching parents.

* * *

Half an hour later they were in a booth at Pop's, with several burgers and milkshakes before them. Jellybean was working on her math homework, muttering curses under her breath when the equations wouldn't comply with the numbers in her head. Across from her, trying not to snicker at the rantings of his sibling, Jughead had moved on to his Blue and Gold article surrounding the mysterious fire that had consumed Southside High, causing populations of the schools from either side of town to combine.

His phone chimed with a text from an unknown number.

 **Hello Forsythe**


	3. Chapter 3

The following day, Jughead scanned the school campus as he and Archie arrived at school. He barely registered anything his friend was saying, something about how hard it was trying to juggle football and music. Jughead never had the heart to tell him his music was about as good as a bunch of High School Musical DVDs in a dumpster fire.

She found him before he could spot her. "Forsythe!" Betty called from behind him, making him stop in his tracks.

"Keep your voice down." He scolded once he'd turned around to face her.

Betty bit her lip. "You should know, I don't take kindly to being told what to do."

He rolled his eyes at her. "Is that so?" She smiled and nodded. "So is it safe to assume that text yesterday was from you? Not some ridiculous serial killer hell bent on ridding Riverdale of sinners?"

"I don't know what your talking about, better lock your doors at night." She said airly as she glided past him. Before heading into the school, she turned around and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Dude, she's totally in to you." Archie announced smugly.

"I'm not so sure about that but it seems like working on the paper is going to be a lot more fun from now on." Truthfully, Jughead didn't want to get his hopes up.

* * *

The second day with the Southside students at Riverdale High seemed to fly by for Jughead. He found himself counting down until the last class period of the day.

He sat in the Blue and Gold office working on his story, eyes wandering over to the door every few seconds waiting for _her_.

He shook his head. What has gotten into him? He'd never been like this about a girl before. He'd met plenty of pretty blondes in his lifetime. What was it about her that gave him a surge of confidence but also made him nauseous with nervousness?

The door opened slowly as she backed into the room, arms stacked messily with various books and loose papers. With her backpack behind her, she looked as if she was about to topple over. He sprung from his seat and was quick to relieve her of the stack she was carrying. "What's all this?" He asked, unable to hide the amusement in his voice.

"Research. We spent the entire period talking yesterday that I never got a chance to tell you about the article I'm working on."

"Which is?"

"I want to figure out what caused the fire. Did you know that no one noticed it was burning all night until it was just bricks and ash? Even for the Southside, that's suspicious." She declared. The last comment piqued his interest in the Southside but he let it go for now.

"Funny, I was writing about the exact same thing. I suppose it would be a lot of help to have a voice from someone who lives on that side of town and went to school there. What have you got so far?"

She launched into her research about things that could've caused a fire that big and a couple loose theories as to why no one noticed the fire. He watched the way her ponytail swung when she was getting excited about a theory or topic. He noticed the fire in her eyes that expressed her passion for solving mysteries.

The bell rang and neither of them had gotten any writing done. "Care to continue this investigation?" She tempted him with her sly smile.

He was surprised she'd asked but he'd jump at any chance to spend more time with her. "I say we go to the scene of the crime." His own eyes almost went wide at the suggestion that came from his mouth.

"Sounds like a plan. However, we should go under nightfall. Whoever is behind this might not be too keen on us snooping around." She said in all seriousness.

"Want to meet at Pop's around sunset? We could work on merging our articles until it's dark."

"Pop's?" Her eyebrows knit in confusion.

"You've never been?" He gasped. She bit her lip and shook her head. "Okay then it's settled we absolutely have to go. They have the best onion rings in town."

"It's a date." She smiled her contagious smile as she made her way to the door. "Oh and Jughead?"

"Yeah?" His head popped up from his laptop he was gathering into his bag.

"Wear something black." She bit her lip again and eyed his red sweater and khakis.

* * *

Kevin lives a few blocks away from the Andrews and Jones' homes but after Jughead called him, unsure of what to wear, he was over in exactly two minutes. "Jeez Kev, you must have ran here."

"There's very little time to dress you for this rendezvous. Come, I have to see what exactly I'm working with." He said between breaths.

Jughead chuckled and shook his head then followed his eccentric friend up the stairs to his bedroom. Kevin had already started throwing possible clothing options on to the bed by the time Jughead entered the room.

"I'm thinking you should go for a nice layered look. The Southside guys tend to have this style Veronica and I have dubbed 'Hobo Chic.' Do you own any flannel?" Kevin asked putting a hand up to his chin thoughtfully.

Half an hour later, Jughead was dressed in a faded black denim jacket over his black 'S' t-shirt, dark jeans, a black plaid shirt tied around his waist, and black leather boots they'd dug out of FP's closet.

"I look ridiculous." Jughead scoffed at his reflection.

"Archie, does he look ridiculous?" Kevin asked the redhead who'd been called over for a second opinion.

"Nah, man. You look like you could really blend in on the Southside. Very different look from your usual sweaters and sherpa jackets."

"Hmm. It needs one final touch." There almost seemed to be a lightbulb flick on above Kevin's head. "The hair!"

"That's where I draw the line." Jughead put his hands up defensively protecting his crown hat.

"Just." Kevin reached to the left. "One." Then faked to the right. "Little." Finally he was able to complete his mission. "Fishhook. There." He beamed spinning Jughead around to view the slight improvement. A single curl adorned his forehead. "You are officially ready for your date."


	4. Chapter 4

At 6pm on the dot, Jughead stood outside Pop's tugging the sleeves of his jacket, suddenly uncomfortable with his choice of clothing. He really wished he'd just worn his high tops. FP's boots were heavy and made the walk to the diner seemingly take forever. He thought the plaid shirt tied around his waist was too much, but it was this or Kevin was going to make him wear suspenders that hung off his jeans. He wasn't sure he could pull that look off. He didn't want to admit he was stalling, his stomach churning in anticipation. She'd called it a 'date' but did she really mean that? Archie suggested he bring flowers but in case it wasn't a real date, Jughead wanted to avoid any awkwardness. Plus, it wouldn't be practical for her to carry them while they sifted through the ashes of her former school.

He shook his head in attempt to clear his racing thoughts before he decided to just turn tail and head home. He took a deep breath and tried to relax at the familiar chime the door made as he entered his home away from home. He spotted her right away, her back was to him as she watched the sunset out the window. The sun acted as a halo around her ponytail, though the Serpent jacket reminded him she was no angel.

As if she could sense his presence as he approached the booth, she turned around and flashed that smile of hers. The look of it almost made him stop in his tracks. "Hey." She greeted as he slid into the seat across from her. "So I took the liberty of ordering some of those onion rings you mentioned and I wasn't sure what type of shake you'd want so I ordered both strawberry and chocolate and I'll let you pick whichever you prefer."

He was surprised at how thoughtful she was didn't trust his words so he nodded and busied himself with the task of removing his jacket. Looking to find a subject to talk about, he noticed the square black bag sitting on the table near Betty. "What's in the bag?"

"Well I figured if we were to find any evidence, we could snap a couple pictures. I talked Toni into letting us borrow her camera, which was not any easy thing to accomplish. I owe her at least six favors. It's her baby, so we have to be extra careful or there will be hell to pay. She may be small, but you do not want to face her wrath." She commented as the onion rings and shakes were placed on the table in front of them.

"So is Toni the friend that assigned you that dare yesterday?" Jughead wanted to face palm at the word vomit that left his mouth without permission. He did, however, enjoy watching the blush that crept up Betty's cheeks.

"The one in the same." She nodded avoiding his eyes. Liking not being alone in nervousness, he decided to push the subject further.

"So what exactly _was_ the dare? To kiss the most beautiful stranger you could find?" He snagged an onion ring from the plate between them.

Her blush deepened. "Something along those lines. It was silly but when Toni and I are together we tend to goof off a lot. She was just trying to cheer me up. But get this, she actually thought I wouldn't do it!" She scoffed, taking a handful of onion rings.

"Something tells me not to underestimate you." He slid the chocolate milkshake to his side of the table and pushed the strawberry to hers.

"I would advise you to listen to that something."

"So I don't mean to pry but why exactly was Toni trying to cheer you up? You don't have to answer if you don't want to but I'm just curious."

She blew out a long breath of air. "It's kind of a long story but my ex and I split not too long before the fire. I was actually looking forward to the merger because with the bigger student body I figured the easier it would be to avoid him but he somehow ended up in two of my classes and he's just not really the type to let things go."

"That sucks, I'm sorry to hear that." He said genuinely. He refrained from saying he wouldn't want to let her go either. Jughead wanted to know more about this ex but decided not to push any further. "Well, did it work?"

"Did what work?" She asked, being pulled from her thoughts that were a million miles away from their booth.

"The dare. Did it cheer you up?"

"It may have." She bit her lip to hide her bashful smile.

"Well that's good to hear." He sat back after finishing the last of the onion rings. "Anything I can do to be of service."

Betty glanced out the window and her eyes widened. "It's dark already. Should we get going?"

"Yeah let's go." Jughead agreed putting on his jacket and throwing a few bills on the table. He hoped he hadn't put his foot in his mouth with the last comment. He kept his hands in his pockets as he followed her outside. "So should we take the bus or walk?" He asked once they were outside.

"No need for either. I've got a ride." She smiled walking over to a motorcycle.

"This is _yours_?!"

"Yup. This is my baby." She beamed proudly. "I am mother and mechanic to this pretty girl."

She opened up a compartment on her bike and handed him a second helmet. He looked down at the object realizing she intended for him to ride the metal contraption. His dad owned a bike, one piece of the Southside he was never able to give up. Jughead's mother had forbade him from ever riding it. He was always curious about them, especially because of his dad's infatuation with bikes. After a few moments of hesitation, he fastened the helmet to his head and straddled the bike behind her. "So how fast does this thing go?" He wondered aloud in her ear.

"We'll have to test that another day when it's light out." She giggled and kick-started the bike.

He couldn't help but notice his heartbeat quicken at the prospect of spending more time with her as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Before he could dwell on it very long they had taken off and it felt as if they were flying through the streets of Riverdale. Soon, they felt the bumpy railroad tracks, signaling that they had entered the Southside. They passed Fox Forrest and a soup kitchen, and he noticed a bar they were coming up on called White Wyrm. He knew from his father that this was the primary hangout for the Serpents. He felt a sense of foreboding as they approached it, he was always warned to stay away, until they made a right heading the opposite direction from it.

A block away, they parked the bike at Pickens park and as he stepped off and removed his helmet, his heart was still racing and he felt exhilarated. He questioned if the feeling was just from the motorcycle ride or from having been in such close proximity to Betty.

"That was amazing!" He announced. "I've never felt such a feeling before." He couldn't hide his grin as he handed her back the helmet and she stuck the both of them in the bike compartment after pulling out the camera bag.

"Was that your first ride?" She asked and he nodded in response, too giddy yet to say much else. "Well I'm honored to have been the one to pop your cherry." The comment made them both blush and an awkward silence fell between them.

"Well, uh," He cleared his throat. "Which way to the school?" She pointed and began leading him. The former building was a block away from the park.

"Well here lies Southside High." She held her arms out to the shell of her old school.

"Wow, you really weren't kidding about this being just ash and bricks. Do you think we'll actually find anything?"

"Beats me, but good investigative journalists would at least try."

Betty pulled a flashlight out of her pocket and entered the gaping hole where the front door used to be. There was enough ash to be up to their ankles and Jughead was relieved that he didn't wear his own shoes. There were bits of metal, glass, and bricks they had to avoid as they walked.

"And this, used to be the Red and Black." Jughead noticed the sorrow in her voice. "All my hard work the past two and a half years up in smoke."

"What's that over there?" Jughead shined his light at a square hunk of metal sticking out of the ash, no furniture remaining in the room.

"No, it can't be." She rushed over, making Jughead cough at the dust she kicked up. "It's my typewriter! Somehow it didn't burn up! I wonder if it still works."

"Clean it up a bit and maybe. Here, I can carry it." He offered noticing her struggling with it, the flashlight, and Toni's camera around her neck. "Will it fit in your bike compartment?"

"No probably not, but my house isn't too far from here if you don't mind walking." She started off in a direction to leave the condemned building when there was a small cracking noise beneath her foot. She bent down and picked up a watch that she had just smashed the face of.

"What did you find?" Jughead asked.

"I think it's a clue. Weirdly enough I know exactly who this watch belongs to."

"And who would that be?"

"My ex, Sweet Pea."

* * *

 **A/N: Hello dear readers. I'd just like to thank everyone for reading my fic. So I kinda like this schedule of updating every four days. I'm working full time six days a week and growing a human inside me so that gives me enough time for everything and to work on my chapters long enough so I'm happy with them. Let me know how you're liking the story so far!**


	5. Chapter 5

"So do you think this guy was possibly involved in the fire?" Jughead asked while lugging the typewriter through the burnt building.

"I'm not sure. The night it happened I was probably one of the last people in the school and he'd came into the Red and Black to talk to me. We argued because he wasn't happy I'd broken up with him. I ended up leaving in the middle of working on an article and left him behind in the office. He is the last person I know of that was in here that night, but I guess I really never thought to suspect him."

"What was the article you were writing about?"

"The Ghoulies, more precisely, them selling drugs. Mostly because everyone assumes the Serpents sell when they haven't dealt since the last leader was put in jail years ago when I was still a kid. Basically, I was hoping to clear our name. The Ghoulies are a nasty bunch, they make the Serpents look like the _saints_. I was trying to figure out who their supplier was, figuring if I could expose them, it'd make the Serpents look better and maybe help get some of the drugs off the street." She shrugged.

"What all did you find out?"

"Well, I kind of followed one of them after school one day after I noticed her dealing on campus to Sweet Pea, hence the break up. Anyway, she unknowingly led me to this warehouse that I assume is their main meeting place. They call it 'the House of the Dead.' So I've found that and have been able to identify their leader, Malachi who owns and lives in the building." She smiled triumphantly, snapping photos as she walked.

"Well you make my articles sound a lot _less_ interesting. Would Sweet Pea have any reason to not want that information to come out?"

"I didn't mention him at all in the article, so not that I would know of. He's always hated the Ghoulies for giving the Southside such a bad reputation. I imagine he'd be happy if anything exposed them." She led him out of a door on the opposite side from where they entered the school.

"How far is your house?" He asks, beginning to feel the weight of the typewriter.

She turned around and continued walking backwards as she smiled at him. "Not far, I know a shortcut."

She faced ahead of them again as they crossed a street and walked past an old decrepit sign so worn you couldn't read the words. "What is this place?" He asked, taking note of the small two-story building that read 'Betty Cooper was here' in spray paint.

" _This_ ," She patted the building affectionately as they walked around it, "is the Twilight Drive-in." She beamed as a large screen and rows of tire marks came into view. "Well, was, unfortunately. They shut it down last fall after school started."

"Too bad." He mused, he never even knew there was a drive-in in Riverdale.

"My family and I used to come here all the time. My sister, Polly, and I would hide in the trunk of our car because we couldn't afford for all of us to get in."

He wasn't sure how to respond to that, he couldn't really think of a time his family struggled to afford anything. "How old is she?" He questions, decide to veer away from the topic.

"Eighteen. She would be a senior this year but dropped out last year when she got pregnant. Her boyfriend Jason and her ran away together and live on a farm a couple hours away. They have twins." She smiled sadly, obviously missing her sister.

"Wait, Jason Blossom?!" He stopped in his tracks.

"Yeah he was a Northsider. Why, do you know him?"

"Of _course_ I do. His twin sister has become a menace to everyone in school since he left. It was big news that he rejected the family business he was being groomed to take over and then ran away. It was all over the paper, but nothing ever mentioned anything about a pregnant girlfriend."

"Yeah anything to keep the Blossom name _clean_ I suppose. I'm sure they wouldn't want it to get out that he'd been with someone from the Southside."

"That's so dumb." He blurted, surprising both of them. "I've never understood why it matters who comes from what side of town. Such a stupid thing to get judged for."

They crossed another street and entered Sunnyside trailer park. A couple houses in, Betty walks to the front door of a yellow trailer and picks up a key from underneath a rusty old garden gnome. "Well this is me." Jughead sat down the typewriter on the steps and turned to leave before Betty's voice stopped him. "Do you want to come in? No one's home. If you don't mind walking me back to my bike, I could give you a ride home."

He smiled and was already following her into the house carrying the typewriter again before she had finished her sentence.

"Where should I-?"

"Oh you can just set that down on the kitchen table, I don't have a desk."

He sat down heavy hunk of metal and stretched his arms. As he lowered them back down, he noticed Betty's eyes lingering where his shirt had ridden up. He turned his head hoping to hide his blush. "Are these the twins?" He asks, noticing a picture of two identical smiling babies besides one having red hair and the other blonde.

"Yeah." She touched the picture fondly. "They only come to visit on holidays, since they can't afford to make the trip often. They're almost twice this size now. That's Rose," She pointed to the redhead. "and that's Jason Junior." Her finger grazed the blonde. "He's named after his father like you, but is only the second rather than third."

"So _how_ exactly did you find my full name and phone number?" He crossed his arms and faced her.

"Also your address and class schedule." He raised his eyebrows at her. "Okay, fine. It was this preppy girl with amazing eyebrows. Black hair, pearl necklace. You know her?"

He sighed. "Yes. I should have known it was Veronica."

"Well anyways, I was exploring the new the school with Toni after classes let out and we happened to run into Veronica after her cheer practice was over. _She_ actually stopped to talk with Toni and I. I think we made our first Northside friend. She had a lot to say about you." Betty smirked at him.

"Like what?" He asked suddenly feeling anxious.

"Oh nothing." She sang while turning from him to dig in her refrigerator. "Are you hungry at all? All this sleuthing has me starved."

"I'm always hungry." He smiled at her back.

"Awesome. I'm thinking breakfast for dinner but I can't seem to find eggs or bacon. How would you feel about- oh!" She snatched up a roll of dough. "Biscuits and gravy?"

"Sounds perfect." He grinned.

He liked watching her cook, ponytail bouncing, and eyebrows furrowed in concentration. After she was done, they ate in a comfortable silence.

"I think my gut is about to explode. Seriously, you might need to roll me home." He joked.

"Well I'm glad you like it. It's just my mom and I now. She's hardly ever home so I don't cook much anymore. It was something Polly and I used to like to do together."

He couldn't stop himself before he placed his hand over hers that rested on the table. "I can tell you miss her a lot."

She nodded and began to tear up. "We were so close in age that we we're more like best friends than siblings. We did _everything_ together. Toni's basically my sister too, she stays over a lot when her uncle locks her out or if he goes on a bender but it's just not the same." He wanted to hug her but didn't want to cross any lines. So he held her hand harder. "Well let me get these dishes out of the way, and then we can head out." She pulled her hand gently from his grasp before grabbing their plates and puttering around the kitchen.

Once she was done she followed him to the door but rested her hand on his shoulder before he could open it. "Hey, I just wanted to thank you for being so nice to me. I really didn't expect that from anyone at Riverdale High."

He turned around and looked into her eyes. "It's not hard being nice to someone like you."

They looked at each other for a moment and he started leaning in before he could second guess himself but they were interrupted by the sounds of barking and scratching at the door. "Oh! That must be Hotdog." She leaned past him to open the door and a scruffy, medium sized dog trotted in and greated Betty. "He's a stray but just about everyone in the neighborhood takes care of him if he comes to their door." She crouched down to his height and ruffled his ears. "I'll be back soon, boy."

She stood back up and faced Jughead. "Well, ready to go?"

He nodded and they exited the trailer. They walked back to the entrance of the mobile home park and she turned to walk North up the last street they'd crossed to get there. They walked in silence until they reached Pickens street. He was ready to turn left away from the bar they had reached again until she started leaning to the right. "Do you mind if we stop in the Wyrm quick? Toni's bartending and I promised I'd get her camera back to her tonight."

* * *

 **A/N: So when I start stories I usually don't have any sort of plan of how I want them to go. Any suggestions welcome!**


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